A Year in Bed: A Modest Proposal

We've been sleeping on a bed that's less than satisfactory — it's not cheap, but it's nevertheless giving us both back pain. Perhaps sleeping sensitivity comes with age (I remember being fine sleeping on the floor), but I'm coming to believe that the bed really DOES make a difference. So, to get to the bottom of it all, I've decided to take on the ultimate journey: I'm going to spend a year sleeping on different beds and then tell you everything I find out.

More Affordable

Why, you ask?
Bed shopping rarely leaves room for much testing, and too often we buy beds after reading the promotional literature, getting carried away by the marketing (TRUMP bed anyone?) and, perhaps, lying on the bed for a few minutes, but how many of you actually get to really TEST a bed over a good period of time before buying it?

And what's the deal with soft beds? Is firm really better? How about green beds, what's the story there? And why would I ever pay more than $400 for a bed? Is a $12,000 bed really a better night's sleep?

We're going to get to the bottom of all of this.

How it begins
I start on my first bed this week, a Hastens Excelsior II ($13,650), which barely squeaked into our apartment (see above). In October, I'll switch out the Hastens and move on to an IKEA Sultan ($400). After that, I'll have ten months to go and am working on sleeping on as many different options as I can.

Where I'll go from there
Here are some beds I really want to sleep on:

Follow my story
Again, the goal is to spend a year studying beds firsthand, learning about how beds differ and what to look for when you go to buy your own bed. I hope to bust up a few myths and uncover some really helpful tips so that we all sleep better.

Each bed/mattress will get an introductory post and then a final review at month's end. (I welcome reader reviews as well from those of you also sleeping on the bed of the month). In between times, you can follow my year in bed via Twitter @ #yearinbed.

Here's to a Year in Bed!

*If you're a mattress company and you'd like me to sleep on your mattress, email herma(at)apartmenttherapy(dot)com with "A Year in Bed" in the subject title.